Tenseigan Chakra Mode

Zi's words plunged the irritable Chi into a long silence.

Upon learning that the Branch Family on the moon had successfully rebelled and that the remaining Main Family members had all been wiped out, it was not as if there was no anger in their hearts.

To say there was none would be a lie.

But to say there was, their current Reanimated Body state made them clearer-headed than ever before.

Clear enough to see many things for what they truly were.

Perhaps the ending of everything had been written in the threads of fate long ago.

Broken walls and crumbling rubble; the past had become a scene of tragedy and desolation...

Even Aoshiki being struck down by that golden light might have been a predetermined link in the wheel of fate.

"Ao... let it go."

Chi finally spoke, his tone carrying a heavy sigh.

"Perhaps this is the closed loop of fate. The blood feud on the moon was a cause planted by our ancestors, and we have already reaped the fruit."

"You have already shouldered too much for the clan; there is no need to trap yourself in the nightmares of the past for the sake of that remains."

"Since we have been granted another life, go and see the mountains and rivers of the ninja world for us..."

"Leave the rest for the descendants to struggle with."

The members of the Rainbow Squad spoke one after another, like a stream washing over a stubborn stone, attempting to grind away the obsession deeply rooted in Hyuga Qinglan's heart.

"..."

Hyuga Qinglan was momentarily stunned.

What obsession could he possibly have in his heart? Whatever he once had had already been worn away during those dozen years of life in the Branch Family.

What he truly craved was merely his own remains, which contained the pure bloodline of the Otsutsuki.

Watching the Rainbow Squad's "enlightened" expressions, he suddenly felt it was somewhat absurd, even wanting to laugh.

"...Since that is the case," Hyuga Qinglan took a deep breath and followed their lead, "then help me one last time. Help me channel your chakra so I may be baptized by the Giant Tenseigan..."

However, before his words could fade, a sudden change occurred!

BOOM--!!

A violent, unpredicted explosion erupted from overhead.

Immediately following, a blinding white light slashed straight down like a giant sword forged of radiance, instantly leveling the entire cave along with the mountain itself.

In the face of this world-destroying Particle Style light, the members of the Rainbow Squad didn't even have time to mount a defense before their bodies began to disintegrate within the waves of light.

--

"Damn Orochimaru, he really is like a persistent ghost!"

Ōnoki hovered in mid-air, his chest heaving violently. His once-neat shadow robe was now tattered, stained with blood and dust.

This retreat was a humiliation unlike anything he had experienced in the decades he had led Iwagakure.

First, he was intercepted by a group of elderly Uchiha who appeared out of nowhere, and then he fell into a trap set by an army of ninja that Orochimaru had sourced from parts unknown.

To preserve his remaining elite forces, Ōnoki had been forced to abandon another batch of cannon fodder, ordering the two jinchuriki to retreat in separate directions while he attempted to bypass the Land of Iron to return to the Land of Earth.

But he never expected that the moment he stepped into the Land of Iron, Orochimaru would be biting at his heels once again.

"Father... what should we do?"

On the ground, Kitsuchi's voice was filled with suppressed pain. His left arm was a shocking shade of purplish-blue, swollen to the point of near-translucence.

Behind him, the battle-scarred squad of Iwa Ninja were all injured, their expressions filled with grief and despair.

"Take the remaining people, cross the border of the Land of Iron immediately, and take a ship back to the Land of Earth!"

Ōnoki drifted down to the ground and wiped the blood from his face, a look of desperate ferocity appearing on his aged features.

"Since it has come to this... Iwagakure and Konoha are now locked in a fight to the death."

"Then there is no need for me to hold back any longer."

With that, Ōnoki slammed his hands together, once again gathering the depleted chakra within his body, aiming at Orochimaru, who was pursuing the troops near the massive ruins in the distance.

However, just as the white cube in his hands condensed once more, preparing to completely erase everything within a hundred-meter radius.

The cold, clear moon high above the silent, snowy sky seemed to receive some kind of summons.

"BOOM--!!!!"

A visible beam of cyan-green chakra dove down from the starry sky.

It was like igniting an eerie emerald in the polar night, illuminating the snowy ground for a thousand meters in a dreamlike yet murderous glow.

Floating back into mid-air, Ōnoki's old eyes were filled with terror.

And at the edge of the ruins, Orochimaru, standing before the Konoha forces, also held his breath.

Everyone's gaze was locked firmly on the center of the destruction.

"What... is that?"

At the center of that nearly liquefied cyan-green chakra, a pitch-black figure slowly rose.

Immediately after, an ethereal voice brimming with absolute killing intent rang out from the ruins, locking onto Ōnoki in mid-air without the slightest concealment.

"Kekkei Tōta... Particle Style..."

"To think that chakra would be so abused in the hands of you Kage; a failure."

His feet left the ground as if he had shed the gravity of the mortal world, his long hair dancing wildly in the violent air currents.

"I had originally intended to observe for a while longer..."

"It seems there is no need to wait..."

As his hands steadily formed the "Ram" seal before his chest.

A terrifying aura, sufficient to induce suffocation, erupted from the black figure and expanded outward in a ring.

The winter night, which should have been silent, trembled violently under these fantastical chakra fluctuations.

"That is...?!" Orochimaru's pupils constricted, staring fixedly at the figure that was gradually overlapping with the wanted poster drawn by Konoha.

"Kong!"

A cry of shock, carrying an incredulous tremor, pierced through the oppressive air.

Hyuga Hiashi arrived late with members of the Hyuga Clan Branch Family.

After learning of the victory on the front lines, he had quickly notified his clan, telling them not to evacuate.

He had intended to take advantage of the pursuit of the Iwagakure forces to allow the Hyuga Clan to earn another wave of military merit.

Yet, he had never expected to run head-on into such a spectacular scene.

It was that same black robe that blocked the Byakugan's perspective...

"It's this guy again!"

"Why is he here?!"

The Branch Family members behind him gasped in unison, their panic spreading like a plague.

Several ninjas among them, who had been personally crippled by Kong not long ago, turned deathly pale and instinctively retreated.

However, this panic was confusing to most of the Uchiha Clan and the other Konoha ninjas.

"I don't care if he's blue or green, those who block the path die!"

A hint of ferocity flashed in the eyes of Uchiha Setsuna; his right hand was already gripping his ninja sword, and he was about to rush into the sky to strike that figure down.

"Wait."

A cold and unquestionable voice rang out.

A slender little snake had climbed onto Uchiha Setsuna's shoulder at some point, its cold scales pressed tightly against his neck.

Uchiha Setsuna felt a chill in his heart. Just as he was about to step forward and question him, he stopped in his tracks the moment he met those sinister vertical pupils.

If he were to support Orochimaru...

Perhaps for the Uchiha, it could be considered an option.

Moreover, the current battle situation...

Uchiha Setsuna's gaze flickered constantly, but in the end, he stopped his advance.

Orochimaru only withdrew his gaze after a fleeting moment, staring obsessively at the figure high in the sky that was beginning to transform.

The black robe on Kong's body was bathed in that cyan-green radiance.

Finally, the black faded away, sublimating into a cyan-green chakra mode.

Immediately following, a sphere that seemed capable of devouring everything silently emerged behind him.

One...

Two...

Three...

And just as this fourth pitch-black sphere was about to condense, Ōnoki, who had been watching, finally moved.

This terrifying aura made him involuntarily recall the psychological shadow brought upon him by Uchiha Madara.

And he keenly sensed that this intense killing intent, which had nearly materialized, was not directed at the distant Konoha army.

It was aimed directly at him, the Tsuchikage!

"I must not let him complete that technique!"

Ōnoki's expression was ferocious as his hands formed seals rapidly, erupting with his final remaining strength.

"Earth Release: Gōriki no Jutsu!"

Rumble--!

Following the magma-like chakra he spat out, a massive stone giant instantly took shape in the void.

"Earth Release: Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique!"

Under the enhancement of the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique, the rock giant's originally heavy and sluggish body had its weight reduced several times over, and its speed increased significantly at this moment.

Seeing that it was about to successfully close the distance, Ōnoki began forming hand seals once again.

"Ultra-Heavy-Weight Rock Technique," ready to be unleashed.

But before he could finish his seals, he saw the fourth black sphere behind Ao, which was on the verge of forming, suddenly collapse and dissipate.

"It worked... it was interrupted!"